Changsha New Year Cake

Changsha New Year Cake

　　Originating from glutinous rice cakes, also known as "nuo zi." During the Ming and Qing dynasties, food workshops in Changsha towns improved upon the traditional craft of making rice cakes by grinding glutinous rice into fine powder, adding white sugar, kneading it with water into rice dough, then shaping it into long strips, squares, or rounds, and pressing in various fillings to make the cake for sale. During the Republican era, there were nearly 40 workshops making New Year cakes during the Spring Festival, offering over 10 varieties such as eight-treasure, lotus seed paste, lard, osmanthus, rose, and date paste. Among these, the cakes made by Xinghua Village Food Workshop were the most famous. Nowadays, new varieties such as ham, sausage, candied fruit, and seafood have been added. The cake has a jade-white color, is soft and smooth, delicate and oily, tender and fragrant, sweet and sticky with a refreshing taste. It can be deep-fried, grilled, or boiled in soup, making it suitable for all ages. Eating it during the Spring Festival has become a custom. (Changsha)